Dramatic footage from inside the stricken transatlantic Virgin flight shows the moment that the 'hero' pilot ordered terrified passengers to adopt the brace position, as he performed an emergency landing on broken landing gear.

The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 with more than 450 people on board was meant to go to Las Vegas but was forced to return to London after developing a technical fault shortly after take-off yesterday afternoon. Virgin said it is launching an internal investigation to find out what caused the frightening episode.

Now footage from inside the flight has revealed the moment that panicked passengers were told to adopt the 'brace' position, as rescue teams scrambled to the airport within seconds.

The video shows the pilot ordering the passengers to brace for landing, saying over the speakers 'stay in the brace position until the aircraft stops completely'.

The terrified passengers then spontaneously cheered and applauded the hero pilot - named only by passengers as 'Dave' - after he landed the jumbo jet safely with only a few on board suffering minor injuries. A second video shows the rapid response of emergency service vehicles which were beside the airliner within seconds of it drawing to a halt.

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The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 with more than 450 people on board was meant to go to Las Vegas but was forced to return to London after developing a technical fault shortly after take-off yesterday afternoon

Close up: This image shows how three-quarters of the landing gear was down - but one set of wheels on the starboard wing were not fully down

Video footage taken from inside the plane has emerged of the moment terrified passengers were told to prepare and then brace for an emergency landing (pictured left and right)

The video then continues with scenes of relief after the jet had safely landed thanks to the pilot's 'text book' skill (right)

The person who filmed the moment later wrote online 'took off from Gatwick and now back at Gatwick, the plane just made an emergency landing with 2 wheels, not a clue how he did it', before describing it as 'crazy'.

A Gatwick airport spokesman said there had been seven flight cancellations so far today as a knock-on effect of yesterday's incident and that there was an average 20-minute delay across flights.

He said most services were operating as normal, but he advised passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flight before travelling.

Passengers from yesterday's grounded flight who wished to continue their journey flew out from Gatwick on a specially-arranged flight at 11am today, a Virgin spokesman said.

The drama unfolded yesterday after the flight took off from the Sussex airport. For several hours, the jumbo jet had circled the airport and made several low-altitude passes so engineers could inspect the landing gear problem, leaving some passengers distraught.

The plane, packed with 447 passengers and 15 crew, finally landed with only three quarters of its landing gear down after a set of wheels on the starboard wing refused to drop.

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Terrified passengers - who had endured a nerve-racking few hours circling above the south coast after the problem was identified - spoke of their relief as the pilot of Flight VS43 managed a 'textbook' landing.

Passenger Dan Crane, 24, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said the mood before the landing was 'anxious'. He said: 'A lot were worried, some crying. They said it was an emergency landing and we had to brace on impact.'

He added: 'The mood was quiet and (we were) just waiting for the captain's next announcement.'

Mr Crane, who was with family and friends, said the crew kept everyone informed, adding: 'They said it was an emergency landing and we had to brace on impact.'

David Gillespie, 28, and new wife Sandra, from Belfast, were flying to Las Vegas for their honeymoon. Mrs Gillespie, 27, praised the pilot and cabin crew for keeping everyone calm.

David Gillespie, 28, and new wife Sandra, from Belfast, were flying to Las Vegas for their honeymoon. Mrs Gillespie, 27, praised the pilot and cabin crew for keeping everyone calm

Catherine and Trevor Sterling (left) and Alison Northcott and Seran Thiru (right) were all smiles as they arrived back at Gatwick's Hilton Hotel

Passengers arrive back at London Gatwick yesterday evening after the VS43 was forced to make an emergency landing en route to Las Vegas

The passengers were taken to the airport's Hilton Hotel after enduring a terrifying ordeal in which they had to adopt the brace position

Many were visibly distressed about what had happened. Pictured right: Passengers Michael Welden, 25, Steven Povey, 25, and Alex Starkie, also 25, all from Bristol

Dean Turner, 42, with his wife Stacy, 40 and their children Ellie, 13, Khenya, 16 and Maisie, four (left) were among the hundreds of passengers (right) who stayed overnight in the Hilton

There were 447 passengers and 15 crew members on board the stricken flight, which eventually landed safely yesterday afternoon

Virgin put on another flight today for those who wished to continue their journey. The flight left the airport at 11am today

Those who had been on the flight waited patiently to find out where they would be staying following the dramatic ordeal

A DRAMATIC END TO HOURS OF TERROR - BUT PASSENGERS WERE IN 'NO REAL DANGER', EXPERT SAYS

The plane was en route to Las Vegas and carrying 447 passengers and 15 crew - all of whom were aware the plane was in trouble and could experience dangerous conditions while landing.

It circled the West Sussex airport for several hours, with witnesses reporting it tilting to 'shake free' the landing gear as it flew at low altitude while technicians on the gournd assesesed the problem. Experts told Sky News the flight may have been dumping fuel to make the landing safer.

Air traffic control expert Philip Butterworth-Hayes said: 'The lighter the aircraft is the slower it can land.'

David Learmount, Flight Global's operations and safety editor, said the plane had a problem with one of its gear legs, of which there are five - two under the body, one under each wing and one in the nose.

He said: 'There is a light for each of those and if one of them doesn't come on fully then they have to get rid of as much fuel as they can then land with as many gears down as they can land with.'

He added: 'If it was really serious they could land with no wheels at all.'

Flight VS43, bound for Las Vegas, made a safe landing at Gatwick airport just before 4pm.

The aeroplane would have had to circle to get rid of fuel before it landed, Mr Learmount said.

Passenger Nick Hughes told the BBC the crew made several attempts to try to free the landing gear.

'They put the thrust on quite heavily and then dipped down, I think, to try and loosen the gears but obviously nothing kind of worked.'

'The landing was smoother than others I've had. It was probably less dramatic on board than it was watching it on TV.

'It is going to go down as one of the greatest emergency landings in history'.

Newly-wed website user Alexia posted a picture of her and her husband as they went to board the flight, next to the message: 'We are on our way.'

But she later tweeted: 'Yup, that's my plane on the BBC News right now! #vegas #v043 will I ever get to Vegas??

After the plane landed, she wrote: 'Despite what we've just been through, we actually would quite like to get on another plane #VS43

'Biggest round of applause I've ever heard for a pilot landing. He's kept us informed the whole time of everything #VS43'

Other passengers also took to Twitter after touching down to thank the flight crew.

The plane had to turn back towards London over the Devon coast less than 30 minutes after taking off for America at just before midday

The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 with more than 450 people on board was meant to go to Las Vegas but was forced to return to London after developing a technical fault shortly after take-off. Passengers disembark the plane

Emergency crews met the jet after the pilot performed a 'text book' emergency landing and escorted passengers off the plane and to safety

Virgin said passengers would be well looked after and that they would be operating a special flight today for everyone who would like to continue their journey

Dan Crane, 24, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, tweeted the picture on the left from inside the plane. Right, a passenger called Alexia tweeted her relief from the ground

Back on the ground: This is the Virgin Atlantic jet during its risky landing at Gatwick yesterday, surrounded by emergency vehicles

Kelly Coates tweeted: '#VS43 currently on board the Virgin Atlantic Flight VS43. Massive thank you to all of the crew for keeping everyone calm and safe ??'

Fate Swan wrote: '@virginatlantic the cabin crew and the pilot have been absolutely amazing and have been keeping us all calm and informed #VS43'

Another posted: 'Top marks to Dave the pilot and all the excellent Virgin cabin crew for bringing us back to Earth safe and sound. #vs43'.

Sir Richard Branson has added to the heartfelt thanks expressed by terrified passengers.

A spokesman added today that all airplanes have daily maintenance checks, including work on the undercarriage and hydraulic system, and that an investigation had been launched to find out what happened.

The spokesman refused to comment on whether that particular aircraft had had a faulty landing gear previously.

She said: 'All aircraft have daily maintenance and regularly undergo checks in the hangar. Work on the undercarriage and hydraulic systems form part of this.

'Virgin Atlantic has now launched an internal investigation to understand the cause of the failure of one of the landing gear systems on the Boeing 747 which operated the VS43 on 29th December. At this stage, until that assessment is complete, it is too early to comment further.'

Crying passengers on board a transatlantic Virgin flight have hailed a hero pilot after he was forced to perform an emergency landing on broken landing gear. Stills from a video show sparks from under the aircraft during landing

Emergency landing: The flight from Gatwick to Las Vegas was back on the ground shortly afterwards, after its pilot landed it with only three-quarters of its landing gear down

Today at Gatwick, flights were rearranged and delayed due to yesterday's events. Four arriving flights from Tripoli, Las Vegas, Jakarta and Fort Worth airport were cancelled, while three departing flights to Tripoli, Jakarta and Banjul were also cancelled.

Yesterday, after the jet had landed, a Gatwick Airport spokesman said: 'Virgin Atlantic flight VS043 has landed safely after returning to Gatwick due to a technical fault.

'Following the emergency landing, passengers have disembarked the aircraft via stairs. At this time, only minor injuries have been reported.

'The runway has been closed until the aircraft can be removed from the runway and based on current predictions it is not expected to reopen until at least 18.00. Currently no flights are departing Gatwick and inbound flights are being diverted to other airports. We advise passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flight. Updates will also be posted on the Gatwick website and on Twitter.'

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman added: 'We can confirm that flight VS43 has landed safely back at Gatwick. Our priority now is to look after our passengers and crew'.

Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic, Craig Kreeger, said: 'I understand that this will have been a very upsetting situation for the customers involved, and for their friends and family, and will have significantly disrupted people's holiday plans.

'We will make sure they are well looked after this evening, and will be operating a special flight tomorrow for everyone who would like to continue their journey.

'I'm here at Gatwick to meet our customers and crew, and to thank them all for their fantastic response. I understand that people have already been phoning our contact centre – from the plane – to make sure that they are booked on tomorrow's special flight to Las Vegas. I want to reassure them that we'll make sure there's a seat for everyone and we really look forward to making sure they're in Vegas for an amazing New Year's Eve.'

Route: The jet was heading across the Atlantic when it turned back over Devon, left, and circled Gatwick several times